2024 Aviation Safety Off to Rough Start?
Devastating collision between Japan Airlines A350 and Japanese Coast Guard aircraft; blowout on Alaska Airlines’ 737 MAX 9: is aviation safety off to a rough start for 2024?
Devastating collision between Japan Airlines A350 and Japanese Coast Guard aircraft; blowout on Alaska Airlines’ 737 MAX 9: is aviation safety off to a rough start for 2024?
Why is this important: 2023 was a challenging year for aviation safety. We’ve seen a string of runway incursions and near-misses at airports across the United States and the rest of the world. It was only a matter of time before these incursions and near-misses became accidents with devastating consequences. Most of us have heard of the collision between Japan Airlines and the Japanese Coast Guard on 2 January, as well as the blowout and decompression of Alaska Airlines’ 737 MAX 9.
Keep reading for the latest on these two significant incidents.
Get Involved: Do you think it is time aviation takes a step back and truly rethink aviation safety? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Japanese passenger plane’s fiery collision with coast guard aircraft carrying earthquake relief kills 5
TOKYO — A passenger plane burst into flames as it landed at a Tokyo airport Tuesday, after a collision with a coast guard aircraft that killed five people, officials said.
All 379 passengers and crew members made it out of the Japan Airlines plane, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said at a news conference. The coast guard pilot escaped, but five crew members were killed, he added.
The coast guard aircraft was flying earthquake relief to Niigata prefecture on the country’s west coast after a series of strong tremors killed at least 55 people and left widespread damage, Saito said. There was no immediate information about the cause of the accident, he added.
By Arata Yamamoto and Larissa Gao | NBC News
Japan coast guard plane not cleared for takeoff before deadly runway crash, air traffic control transcript suggests
Tokyo CNN — A Japanese coast guard aircraft which was struck by a passenger plane at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport was instructed only to “taxi to holding point” and had not been cleared for takeoff, an official transcript of air traffic control communications released Wednesday suggests.
The fatal accident saw Japan Airlines flight 516 crash into the coast guard aircraft after touching down on the runway on Tuesday, causing it to erupt into a terrifying fireball.
All 379 people on the Japan Airlines (JAL) plane were safely evacuated in what has been hailed as a textbook response from crew and passengers. Five of the six crew members on the smaller coast guard aircraft died, according to Japanese Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito.
By Emi Jozuka and Pete Muntean | CNN
US aviation officials ground Boeing 737 planes after fuselage blowout on Alaska Airlines flight
The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered the immediate grounding of Boeing 737–9 Max jetliners after the window of an Alaska Airlines plane blew off mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of its fuselage.
Required inspections will take around four to eight hours per aircraft and will affect about 171 planes worldwide.
The aircraft was travelling from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, when a window and a chunk of fuselage blew out shortly after takeoff on Friday, 5 January.
By Rhys Jones | independent
Alaska Airlines cancels 230 flights as the 737 Max 9 is grounded after mid-flight door blowout
Alaska Airlines said it’s canceling 230 flights after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets.
170 of the cancelations were on Sunday, while the airline expects more through the first half of this week.
It added that the grounding “has significantly impacted our operation.”
United Airlines, the biggest operator of the single-aisle jet with 79 in service, canceled 270 flights on Saturday and Sunday, FlightGlobal reported.
The FAA grounded certain 737 MAX 9 aircraft on Saturday, the day after an Alaska Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing.
By Pete Syme | Business Insider
Note: The views and opinions expressed in the content shared in this digest are for informational purposes only, are solely those of the original content creators, and do not constitute an endorsement by or necessarily represent the views of On Aviation™ or its affiliates.
Thank you for reading this week’s On Aviation™ digest. Do you think it is time aviation takes a step back and truly rethink aviation safety? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Remember to check out our On Aviation™ Podcast and continue the conversation on our Twitter and Instagram.
Orlando — On Aviation™
